Why we must quit coal

The coal industry stands in the way of a safe and healthy future for us all. From destructive mines to polluting stacks and toxic ash dumps, coal lays waste to our environment. Coal threatens our most basic needs: clean water to drink, clean air to breathe, and a safe climate.

Around the world Greenpeace helps communities fight back, and together we're winning! But we can't stop until we completely break free from coal, and embrace the 100 percent renewable energy future we must have.

Coal stokes global warming

Coal is a dying industry, and for good reason. Emissions from burning coal for heat and energy fuel global warming, making coal the single greatest threat to our climate. Coal mining is also a source of methane, a very potent global warming gas.

Coal air pollution harms our health

Mining and burning coal release harmful pollutants into the air. These include mercury, fine pollution particles, and chemicals that form smog — all damaging to our health. Pollution from burning coal also leads to acid rain, which kills fish and plants and damages soils.

Coal lays waste to landscapes

Open-cut coal mining disturbs landscapes on a vast scale, destroying forests and scraping away soils. So severe is the damage, in most cases it cannot be repaired. When mines unearth and disturb rock and earth, toxic chemicals within can mix with water. This leads to acid main drainage, harmful to streams, soils, and plants, animals and people.

What is Greenpeace doing to fight coal?

Around the world, Greenpeace helps communities break free from coal and supports their shift to clean, safe solutions including renewable energy.

We campaign to close down coal power plants and prevent new ones being built. We join forces with communities, support farmers driven from their land, and energise people-powered movements to stop the dirtiest coal projects.

We reveal the coal industry's true costs; the harm it does to our air, water, lands and health.

Sydney, 16 March 2015 – In response to Environment Minister Greg Hunt’s announcement of a draft law to ban the dumping of capital dredge spoil in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Shani Tager at Greenpeace Australia made the following statement:

New rules that were supposed to help tackle deadly air pollution in Europe could result in weaker rules than are currently in place in China ( notorious for its poor air quality), a Greenpeace investigation has revealed.
The new...

New Delhi, 12 March 2015 - The Indian government was handed a symbolic legal rebuke today as the Delhi High Court declared the decision to block Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai from travelling to Britain in January 2015 was undemocratic.

The struggle to remain relevant can be a tough one. For the fossil fuel industry, remaining relevant can mean stacks of money and political clout, or, staring into the darkness of very empty pockets.
In the face of growing ...